Wednesday, 29 April 2015

Edgar Degas 1864-65 Manet Seated, Turned to the Right etching and drypoint 19.5 x 13 cm (plate) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Édouard Manet (1832 – 1883) was a French painter. He was one of the first 19th century artists to paint modern life, and was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. His early masterworks “Le déjeuner sur l’herbe” (The luncheon on the Grass) and “Olympia”, both painted in 1863, caused great controversy and served as rallying points for the young painters who would create Impressionism. Today, these are considered watershed paintings that mark the genesis of modern art.

This is part 4 of a 9 – part post on the works of Édouard Manet. For full biographical notes see part 1. For earlier works see parts 1 - 3 also.

Monday, 27 April 2015

Édouard Manet (1832 – 1883) was a French painter. He was one of the first 19th century artists to paint modern life, and was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. His early masterworks “Le déjeuner sur l’herbe” (The luncheon on the Grass) and “Olympia”, both painted in 1863, caused great controversy and served as rallying points for the young painters who would create Impressionism. Today, these are considered watershed paintings that mark the genesis of modern art.

This is part 3 of a 9 – part post on the works of Édouard Manet. For full biographical notes see part 1. For earlier works see parts 1 - 2 also.

Manet’s trip to
Spain in 1865 lasted only about ten days, though it had a profound impact on
him. In a letter to his friend the poet Charles Baudelaire, he described a
bullfight he attended in Madrid as “one of the finest, most curious and
terrifying sights to be seen.” He made quick sketches there that informed
several later canvases, including this one. Here he presented the moment of
truth, as bullfighter and bull face one another; a gored horse lies dead or
dying in the sand.

In 1863 the
Austrian, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, was installed in Mexico as a puppet
Emporer by Napoleon III. He was dependent on the support of the occupying
French army, and when Napoleon withdrew his troops, Maximilian was captured by
Mexican forces loyal to the legitimate Republican government. He was executed
alongside two of his generals on 19 June 1867.

The left-hand
section of the canvas showing General Mejía was probably cut off by Manet
himself. After the artist’s death the canvas was cut up into smaller fragments,
some of which were sold separately. Edgar Degas eventually purchased all the
surviving fragments and reassembled them on a single canvas.

1867-68 The Execution of Maximilian oil on canvas 193 x 284 cm The National Gallery, London